Roman paved road
Calzada romana pavimentada (Via Appia)
- Date
- 312 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Rome - Capua, Italy
- Credited to
- Appius Claudius Caecus
- People
- 👤 Apio Claudio el Ciego?–300 BCE
- Field
- Movement
What it is
A road with a layered foundation (statumen, rudus, nucleus), a slab pavement, a camber for drainage, ditches and milestones, laid out in straight lines using surveying instruments. An 80,000 km network that gave the Empire its backbone.
What it led to
- Rapid movement of legions: the basis of imperial expansion and control
- The state courier system (cursus publicus) and orders circulating within days
- Overland trade, urbanisation of the provinces and Romanisation
- A layout that still fixes European towns and roads today